


A Sanders’ Summer

by iassureyouicannotwrite



Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders
Genre: but it is one, its a summer camp au, not a good one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-06-06 08:29:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15190838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iassureyouicannotwrite/pseuds/iassureyouicannotwrite
Summary: Roman, Patton, Logan, and Virgil are all counselors at Sanders’ Summer Camp. There’s angst and there’s fluff. What more do I need to say, honestly?





	1. Campfire Knight

The campfire was crackling in the iridescent rays of the moonlight. Around the campfire, campers wearing different-colored camp shirts were all sitting on wooden logs. They all talked to each other, laughing and singing campfire songs. 

Meanwhile, Virgil remained in the comforting shadows of the pine trees bordering the campfire. He scanned the crowd of campers and counselors alike. Virgil sighed. His first night as a camp counselor was making his anxiety– which was usually more subdued due to his meds– go off the charts.

Virgil walked towards the campfire, sitting down at an unoccupied log. But of course, Patton, the sweet and kind person he was, had to go and sit next to Virgil. He waved his hand enthusiastically from side to side as he approached, and it made him look like one of the younger campers. 

“Virgil!” Patton exclaimed as he plopped down on the log next to Virgil, “How are you liking the camp?” 

This was Virgil’s first year at Sanders’ Summer Camp. He’d seen an ad for a replacement music teacher/camp counselor, and decided that going to a summer camp was better than trying to spend time with his parents all summer. 

So far, he hadn’t met anyone besides Patton, who he’d met upon arriving at camp.

Virgil had walked into the log cabin for registration, and he had been instantly bombarded with a warm greeting from Patton. Patton had helped Virgil with getting settled and finding his way around the camp. It seemed like Patton knew everyone at the camp, yet he introduced Virgil to no one. Virgil would have to try and socialize on his own.

“Virgil?” Patton looked at Virgil quizzically as he cocked his head to the side. This time he looked like a confused puppy. 

“What?” 

“How are you liking the camp?” Right.

“Oh! Uh, yeah, sorry. It’s, um, great?” Virgil winced as his voice lilted at the end of his sentence to form a question. He’s not supposed to answer a question with another question.

“That’s great! I’m so glad you like it! I can’t wait until you meet all of the other counselors, they’re all going to love you, kiddo!” Another strange yet lovable aspect about Patton is how he always calls everyone kiddo, as long as they’re younger. But even stranger is how Patton manages to be the stereotypical dad friend but he’s also simultaneously the one who acts like a little kid all the time.

“I don’t know…” Virgil mumbled as he was looking at everyone else. They were all so happy already without him. Was it really fair for Virgil to intrude on that?

Patton gasped.

“Well, I know! And I know that you’re going to be one happy camper while you’re here, kiddo!” Patton gave a sort-of goofy smile, and, at Virgil’s weak shrug, he hopped up to talk with other counselors. 

Virgil was alone again. If anyone was paying attention, he would look like a loser. But it didn’t matter, because soon everyone was quiet and paying attention to something behind the campfire. 

It was just another camp counselor. His camp shirt was a rich red color, as opposed to Virgil’s violet. He was standing tall behind the fire; his face shimmered with an orange hue caused by the fire. The counselor’s hair looked like the kind of style that would belong to an adventurer from a movie. Wild, yet somehow still carefully combed and delicately dolloped with about a dozen hair products. His hair was also a dirty blonde or light brown, which added to his explorer aesthetic.

The counselor cleared his throat rather dramatically, then, in a loud, boisterous voice, he began to talk:

“Hello, everyone, and welcome to the first campfire night of the summer!” He spread his hands out, flames just barely licking at the tips of his hands. Everyone cheered.

“For those of you who are now joining us on our quest for fun this summer, first of all my name is Roman, but second of all, we have a little tradition we like to do here at Sanders’ ever campfire night.” Campers who had been to the camp before cheered, and the ones who hadn’t been there before looked around in confusion. Roman chuckled a bit mischeviously.

After everyone quieted down, Roman revealed a single wooden stick, and at the end of it there was a small, puffy marshmallow. The crowd went wild. Kids were scrambling to get their own marshmallows, and by the time all of the campers and counselors had one, some kids were already heading over to the table overflowing with graham crackers and chocolate, golden-brown marshmallows at the end of their sticks. 

Virgil took the stick when it was offered to him, but he wasn’t close enough to the fire to actually roast his marshmallow, so he just kind of held it awkwardly at his side.

After a couple of minutes, most of the camp was happily munching away at gooey, delicious s’mores. Virgil was still holding his stick at his side. At one point, Virgil thought he saw Patton eating a s’more, his mouth completely bordered by chocolate and marshmallow bits. Though that could have just been one of the younger campers wearing his glasses.

Virgil considered going over to Patton, maybe to tell him about napkins, but before he could, Roman cleared his throat again. He flashed a dazzling smile before he started speaking again,

“I’m glad you are all enjoying your food! But, of course, what’s dinner without a show?” Roman picked up his marshmallow stick, the only remnants of a marshmallow appeared as charred, sticky masses stuck to the top of the stick. Virgil guessed that Roman wasn’t the best at roasting marshmallows over a fire.

Roman held his stick at his side like a sword, stabbing it into the ground with the force of a warrior. The fire seemed to go omniously quiet, and the only sound in the camp was the crickets chirping in the forest and the occasional crunch of someone biting into a graham cracker. Virgil guessed that Roman was the best at bringing attention to himself.

Roman began with a flourish of his hands, “Once upon a time,” Some of the old campers made ooh’s, then were immediately silence by Roman with a quick gesture of his arms, “there was a gorgeous meadow, full of the most beautiful flowers known to man. In the meadow, there lived all kinds of wondorous creatures, like…”

Roman scanned the crowd. Virgil was surprised when he found himself listening to the story, and even more surpised when Roman picked up one of the young campers sitting near him. It was a young girl with a unicorn-themed bow tied to her hair. Roman swept the girl in a circle as she giggled.

“Like unicorns! And…” Roman picked up another boy who wore a grizzly bear cap, he, too, laughed as he was spun around, “and mystical bears the size of a mountain!” Roman put the boy down, but the boy immediately tugged on Roman’s shirt. Roman looked back down at him, kneeling so he could talk to him at eye-level.

The little camper wore a purple camp shirt like Virgil’s, meaning he was a music camper. All of the different colored shirts corresponded with different types of campers and counselors. The boy stared at Roman, suddenly shy.

He whispered something in Roman’s ear and Roman immediately smacked his forehead as if to show how dumb he acted. 

“Why, of course! Another animal in the meadow would be…” Roman lifted the boy up like he was Simba from The Lion King, “the most beautiful butterflies you’ve ever seen!” The boy flapped his arms like wings a bit hesitantly, and the whole camp cheered. 

Virgil was… astonished. Most counselors would have told the kid that boys can’t be butterflies, or they would have ignored the boy altogether. But Roman, Roman listened to kids. He made them feel appreciated and important. He made them feel loved. That was definitely something Virgil respected. 

“And in this meadow, there was a big, ballistae-guarded castle! It had spires made of gold and silver, and it glowed like a thousand suns when the light was just right. In the castle, there lived a royal family!” Roman looked back at the crowd. 

“Who would like to be part of this royal family?” Dozens of hands shot up immediately, including some counselors and older campers. Roman picked a handful of royals. They all stood behind the campfire, pretending to be regal by sipping their pretend-tea and laughing haughtily.

“Behold!” Roman yelled, “your kings, queens, and everything-in-betweens!”

The rest of the camp laughed and joked around, some kids started bowing, while others yelled for democracy. 

“The royal family loved living in the meadow! In fact, many of the royals owned their own pets from the meadow. However,” Roman’s voice took up a foreboding tone, and his movements became slow and snake-like, clearly foreshadowing something bad.

“One day, the royals were out on the meadow, frolicking in the fronds, when all of a sudden a storm appeared!” The royals were all trying to imitate what Roman was saying. It was actually pretty funny when the royals all pretended it was acid rain instead of regular rain.

“The storm sent many of the royals inside” Once again, the royals all pretended to be frightened of the acid rain, and they ran to their previous sitting areas, “but one of the royals, named…” 

Roman leaned down to one of the kids and asked them quietly if they’d like to be captured. The kid actually nodded excitedly, and Virgil had to hold back his laughter at how Roman could get kids to participate so eagerly. The kid whispered their name to Roman, and he announced it to the camp.

“Now, this little royal loved the outdoors far too much to be stopped by rain! But alas, when they were out on the fields, this little royal did not account for the thunder demons that came with storms!” Roman received some overdramatic gasps from the crowd, and a couple genuine ones. Honestly, it seemed like the whole camp was having fun. 

“There was a crack of thunder, and a demon appeared!” Roman announced, his eyes were subtly glancing over the crowd, trying to find his perfect thunder demon. Virgil felt bad for the poor kid that would end up being displayed as the bad guy. 

But then, Virgil realized that Roman would never pick a kid to be the bad guy. He was probably aware of the self-esteem issues that came with being seen as the villain. Virgil stared at the floor, wondering who Roman would choose. 

“You there! Thunder demon!” Roman pointed with his marshmallow stick/sword to the newly appointed thunder demon. 

Virgil looked up to see who it was, when he realized everyone was staring at him. 

Oh, no.

“Ahem! Thunder demon!” Roman jerked his head towards the little kid playing the royal, who was eagerly awaiting to be kidnapped. Virgil made panicked eye contact with Roman, silently begging him to pass him over. But Roman shook his head softly, his messy, overdone hair shaking with it.

Virgil walked up to the campfire, his anxiety making him way too aware of everyone staring at him. What if he had something taped to his shirt that said loser? What if Patton had put it there? What if Patton was friends with Roman, and this was all an elaborate plan to embarass Virgil? What if-

“The thunder demon attempted to capture the little royal, as they knew they were worth quite a ransom!” Virgil stood awkwardly next to the little royal, hands in his pant pockets. The little kid, however, was a bit of a drama nerd. They also kicked and screamed for dramatic effect. Virgil was no actor, however, and he just tried to desperately avoid eye contact with anyone in the audience. He blew a bit of his violet-tinged hair out of his eyes. 

Virgil probably did look like a villain, since his shirt matched his hair almost perfectly. Virgil didn’t have any idea he was going to be getting a purple camp shirt since he was the music camp teacher, but now he had to deal with it. Even if he looked like a thunder demon.

“But do not worry, loyal subjects! For in the meadow, there lived a famous prince!” Previous campers groaned slightly; it was a known fact that Roman always made himself the prince on the first campfire night. He held his marshmallow stick like a sword, subtly gesturing for Virgil to do the same.

Right. Virgil still had his stick. And it had a marshmallow at the end. 

Even though Virgil definitely did not want to, Virgil played along, lazily putting up his sword and preparing for a very, very quick fight.


	2. Starry Knight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton heads back to the counselors’ cabin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know im out of control with the knight/night puns but its a free country leave me alone ok

Patton walked away from the campfire, licking his fingers for graham cracker crumbs. He also managed to lick up some traces of dark chocolate. Most people liked milk chocolate, but Patton actually enjoyed the rich taste of dark chocolate better. He doesn’t really know why. 

It was actually pretty dark, since he was far from the firelight at this point, so Patton started in the direction of the counselors’ cabins. He had a tradition to carry out.

It was a small distance, so Patton wasn’t too worried about bears or any other animals, but just in case, he makes loud noises and yells occasionally to scare any stragglers off.

The campfire hadn’t finished yet, so Patton was alone as he bounced along the trail to the familiar wooden cabin. Patton also had a tradition every first night of camp. Patton was the cooking camp teacher, so he was obviously talented in the culinary field. Therefore, every first night of camp, Patton made a nice dinner for all of the counselors.

Since it was a cool night, Patton could feel the light breeze brushing through the trees and the undergrowth. He stopped for a moment to breathe in the fresh forest air. 

Patton had missed this.

He loved being a counselor at Sanders’ because it gave him time to just relax and have fun. Of course, he had responsibilty as a counselor, and he fully intended to take care of his cooking campers as best as possible.After a couple minutes or so, Patton made it to the cabin. 

Patton tried to turn the rusted knob to the main entrance, but it wouldn’t work. He frowned at the knob. Patton would have to go inside another way. Good thing Patton did know another way. 

Bracing himself, Patton jumped up and grabbed onto one of the tops of the cabin’s window frames. He pulled himself up, which wasn’t difficult since the window was barely off of the ground. Patton positioned his feet so they would be able to stand on the small trim surrounding the window. He then reached up to the window of the cabin’s attic, and pulled himself up again, his legs swinging wildly underneath him in a comical manner.

Patton huffed in extertion, but he thought of welcoming everyone with a nice after-campfire dinner and reached for the cabin’s roof with renewed vigor. 

His fingers just barely managed to clamp over the edges of the wooden roof, but Patton seized the moment and swung himself onto the roof with practiced ease. This wasn’t the first time the knob hadn’t worked, but Patton hadn’t had to climb the cabin since last summer, so he was a bit rusty. Kind of like the knob. 

He scrambled over to the right side of the traingle-shaped roof, surveying the roof for the window that was always unlocked in the attic. To Patton’s surprise, the window was already wide open, and there was a telescope sticking out of it. 

Patton cocked his head to the side, then slowly crawled over to the open window. He popped into view of the telescope, staring at the person currently bent over the telescope. The person, another counselor like Patton, made a startled noise and pulled back. 

Once Patton realized who it was, he laughed. It was Logan.

“Hi, Logan!” Patton smiled at a now slightly surprised Logan. Logan looked a bit undignified; his glasses were crooked on his face from having pulled back too quickly. He adjusted them quickly and brushed off his indigo-colored shirt, pulling it down almost robotically. 

“Patton.” Logan gave him a curt nod of acknowledgement, then turned to move the telescope so Patton could get into the attic.

Patton slid inside, observing the attic of the cabin. It was different from last summer, since now it was filled with all kinds of scientific gadgets and informational posters. 

Logan observed Patton as he made his way inside.

“What were you doing on the roof?”

“Knob didn’t work. What’s that?” Patton pointed at a large object hanging from a single thread to the ceiling. 

“A makeshift pendulum. I am currently attempting to get it to function properly.” Logan answered Patton, but he was already looking back in the telescope. Patton had no idea how he knew what he was pointing at.

“Whatcha doin’?” Patton asked Logan, coming up to his side as he stared out the telescope. 

“Observing the stars.” It was quiet for a moment. Logan stared out the telescope. Patton stared at Logan.

His hair was gelled back, as always, and it was definitely darker than Patton’s. Logan’s eyes were a dark chocolate color, which still stood out against his indigo shirt somehow. 

Patton had known Logan since they were kids, way before they went to Sanders’. They went to school together for each grade, and they graduated together. So they were kind of friends at this point.

Patton’s thoughts were interrupted by Logan pulling back from the telescope. Patton immediately put on a smile as Logan did so. 

Said counselor sighed softly, just enough so that Patton could hear. Then he gestured towards the telescope.

“Would you like to see?” Patton instantly nodded, his head bobbing up and down excessively. Patton moved over and he pressed his eye to the telescope, gasping quietly when dozens of stars appeared in his vision.

“Logan,” Patton’s voice was tinted with awe and wonder as he spoke softly, “They’re so... pretty. What are you looking at the pretty stars for, though?” Patton turned away from the telescope to find Logan fiddling with something at a desk which was pushed against the other wall of the room. 

Logan ignored the question. Patton just turned back to the telescope. The stars really were beautiful. They twinkled and shone in the black night sky, filling Patton’s eyes with literal stars. 

Patton eventually stopped looking at the stars, but Logan continued to mess with the array of beakers and test tubes laid out on the desk. 

“Hey, Logan?” Patton inquired.

“Hm?” Logan didn’t turn away from the desk.

“Can I help?” Patton asked, making his way to Logan where he stood in front of his desk.

Logan considered the offer for a moment, then shifted so Patton could stand next to him. 

Patton smiled, then moved right next to Logan, bumping his hip playfully. 

“Alright! Let’s get cookin’, lab partner!” Patton immediately grabbed a random test tube. Logan reached over and immediately put it right back. 

“Or,” Logan started, “we could take it slow.”

Logan instead handed Patton another test tube, probably full of something much less harmless. He also handed Patton some safety goggles. They looked kind of weird on both of them, since they both wore glasses.

“That,” Logan directed at the tube in Patton’s hand, “is a chemical called-”

Patton stopped understanding after that. Logan kept going on about science-y stuff. He had always loved those kinds of things since they were kids. Patton tried to understand, he really did, but it was no use. Patton wasn’t the science type. He was the cooking type. 

After a while, however, Logan noticed Patton’s blank nods and empty stares. Logan realized he’d gone on a tangent, so he stopped.

“Patton.” Logan said.

“Mm-hm?” Patton answered, looking up from the test tube he had been swishing around to stare at the colorful liquid inside as it moved around.

“Let’s try something else.”

“Okey-doke!” Patton smiled at Logan for the millionth time that night. He followed Logan back to the window with the telescope. Patton thought they were just going to look at the stars through the telescope again, but he was surprised when Logan slipped out the window.

Patton crawled out, too, sliding next to Logan with his legs swinging over the edge of the cabin roof. 

Logan was leaning back against the roof, lying down. Patton did the same. 

They lay there for a while, just watching the stars in the sky. They were beautiful. Patton wasn’t a science person, so he didn’t know any constellations or star names, but he still appreciated them.

After a moment, Patton noticed one of the bigger stars. It was really bright, and it seemed to wink at Patton each time it twinkled. Patton pointed at it. 

“Which star is that?” 

“That,” Logan followed Patton’s line of sight, “is the North Star.” Patton looked at what was supposedly the North Star.

“It’s so bright and adorable!” Patton laughed, “I love it!” 

Patton didn’t notice when Logan stopped looking at the star. 

“Yes,” Logan said, “me, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> since you guys are crazy sweet and told me not to apologize for people reading my stories, i’d like to thank you all instead!! thanks for reading and any constructive criticism is much appreciated!!


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